DVD mastering software developers Doug Carson & Associates (DCA) have announced that the first 3X DVd-ROM was successfully mastered and replicated on January 17 at Sonopress’ facility in North Carolina. (PDF)
What is 3X DVD? It’s a variant on standard red-laser DVD-ROM which uses HD DVD’s UDF 2.5 file system and (currently compromised) industry-standard AACS copy protection to offer up to 135 minutes high-definition video. However, this is not the same high-def video one might find on a studio HD DVD release: instead, it’s AVC or VC-1-encoded, 720p resolution video content. There’s no 1080i or 1080p support (although, of course, software and player-based upscaling is possible), and the 3X DVD-ROM discs are only readable by HD-DVD drives&mdash which 3X DVD-ROM proponents argue may give HD-DVD extra weight in the format war.
Proponents of 3X DVD-ROM argue that the format offers a lower-cost means for content providers to enter the high-definition DVD market, and, despite videophiles’ sneers, 720p content is exactly what seems to be adding new legs to Microsoft’s Xbox Live video download service. However, the availability of 3X DVD-ROM content isn’t going to reduce the price of HD-DVD players for consumers, and early buyers of HD DVD technology may not be too excited at comparatively short, low-resolution content. If the 3X DVD-ROM format is going to take off, it seems likely HD DVD will have to succeed in the marketplace without 3X DVD-ROM’s help, sustaining enough momentum to spawn a lower-tier market for cheaper, shorter, lower-definition video discs which are only compatible with HD-DVD players.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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